$.05 Toy Hovercraft / Helicopter

This instructable will show you how to make a simple toy hovercraft for small children. It is suitable for daycare projects, science projects (aerodynamics and gyroscopes) as well as general fun. This is a project can be built by small children since it requires no cutting.

Step 1 What you will need.

2 - Styrofoam cups of the same size (8 oz or 16 oz)
8" or 21cm - Masking tape
4 - Medium rubber bands

Comments

[dorkpunch]

Sweet!  Built one and tried it out with my kids, they didnt quite get it but loved watching it "hover".  Had my 8 yr old shoot a video of me flying it for you- pretty poor quality but you get the idea. 

[Hoopajoo]

AWESOME!!! Hope your kids and you have fun playing with it!

[Plo Koon]

i'll try to make it!

[cool knex13]

sweet!

[dorkpunch]

Okay... So I got to "experimenting" with this and was just going to post some things here, but I got a little out of hand. I ended up building a bigger version of this that was a little different, so I made my own instructable referencing this one. I also dug up some more info on the Magnus Effect. You can see it here: The 50 CENT Hovercraft  

[kelseymh]

This is a great, and deceptively simple, project! If you're still around five years after posting it, it would be really awesome if you could add a step (or even just a paragraph in the intro) on the aerodynamics behind it.

As someone else posted, it's clearly driven by the Magnus effect, but I think having a description in the content itself would be beneficial, especially for people wanting to implement it in a classroom environment.

[Goodhart]

Nicely demonstrated here ....

[pgrassia]

Very nice and simple. If I'm not mistaken this uses the magnus effect to get some lift, hence the need for lightweight material. As well a textured surface is needed (like the surface of your golf/tennis ball)

[jbrecken]

Could this toy be called a kind of diabolo?

[jabujavi]

Please put a video!

[Starsghost]

wait, i just read the whole thing

[Starsghost]

HOW DO YOU LAUNCH IT?

[nathanzhang]

Kids, this is definitely more productive than HACKING. Please do this instead of messing around with other people's webcams and/or changing the wallpaper of your nemesis' computer.

[javajunkie1976]

Remember the days when hacking something, meant taking an axe or a pick and trying to get something off the ground?

[golden snake]

yes but some people think HACKING is funner lol

[zack247]

you may have just given me an idea that has to do with my enemies computer and the fact that he blurted out it has no antivirus. if i only knew how to hack...

[dragonsniper]

lol

[CaseBoy]

 can you post a vid??

[yanyan]

I couldn't find styrofoam cups so i tried it with paper cups instead and it flew like a ...cow. Is this because of the smootheness of the paper cups, the weight, or my own shoddy technique?

[Hoopajoo]

I think it is a combination of weight and texture. I tried it once with plastic cups and it flew like a lead blimp.

[rollingstoner357]

Hey! Mythbusters just proved that a lead baloon can fly

[knex_mepalm]

How thin was the lead? 1 nm?

[dombeef]

Yeah!OWNED!!!

[TheCheese9921]

(removed by author or community request)

[shakaka]

(removed by author or community request)

[golden snake]

eww this is the INTERNETZ why does it matter how you spell

[AznPanda]

(removed by author or community request)

[knex_mepalm]

Totally Wrong Man

It matters little for in a world of which we live in , because we have evolved into such a time where we may be allowed not to type proffesionally, as we may spell as we wish yet some belive we should just type better, others can not understand you so they ask of you to type and spell better. Other wordz speakin you dont have to lolz..
bold is wrong

[AznPanda]

oh yah ima delete the comment that i made before seems rather mean of me D: sooo *Deletes* :D

[AznPanda]

elloo uh sad thing is i dont even remember typing that comment lulz
uhh seems like i angered you D: sorries

[knex_mepalm]

Not relly. Sorries :'(

[gotanysparecake]

LOLOLOL totally right, man.

[knex_mepalm]

Yippie!

[Hoopajoo]

Nice dude. Those aren't my hands. Sheesh.

[TheCheese9921]

sorry its like a phobia

[bestbballrebounder1]

(removed by community by request)

[jasonckoval]

Folks, this is a nice project designed to keep little kids busy at *something* that they might get a kick out of. I cannot understand why so many of you feel the need to bash stuff like this. Hoopajo, thanks for contributing this, I will use it with my little ones. It is a clever demonstration of the concept of "circulation" and its relation to aerodynamic lift. Look up "Flettner Rotor" if you are really interested.

[matt7230]

how do you *launch* this!!!

[matt7230]

How do you lunch this!!!

[electrophobia]

Everybody says that this is a good instructable but there is still no video. Anybody can't just video it?